


Boarding the Other Train

by TinySquid (zlsa)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-19
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-09 22:31:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8915521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zlsa/pseuds/TinySquid
Summary: Harry chooses to board a different train at Kings Cross Station in the final chapters of Deathly Hallows. Less than 24 hours after he appears, history starts to change. Harry must deal with the consequences; meanwhile, Voldemort is getting stronger, helped by an unknown ally.





	1. Preface

> context from _Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_ by J.K. Rowling, pg. 609

“I think,” said Dumbledore, “that if you choose to return, there is a chance that he may be finished for good. I cannot promise it. But I know this, Harry, that you have less to fear from returning here than he does.”

Harry glanced again at the raw-looking thing that trembled and choked in the shadow beneath the distant chair.

“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love. By returning, you may ensure that fewer souls are maimed, fewer families are torn apart. If that seems to you a worthy goal, then we say good-bye for the present.”

Harry nodded and sighed. Leaving this place would not be nearly as hard as walking into the forest had been, but it was warm and light and peaceful here, and he knew that he was heading back to pain and the fear of more loss. He stood up, and Dumbledore did the same, and they looked for a long moment into each other’s faces.

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”

Dumbledore beamed at him, and his voice sounded loud and strong in Harry’s ears even though the bright mist was descending again, obscuring his figure.

“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

* * *

He woke up in excruciating pain, pain so strong he couldn’t be sure of his surroundings. He couldn’t bring himself to care, either way. It felt as if his skin was boiling away all over him, while he sat in the burning heat, unable to prevent it. His glasses slid off his sweaty face and were crushed underneath his chest as he writhed; he could feel his skin bubbling. He blacked out.

It was dark when he awoke. From the distance came the howl of a wolf; he jerked upright at the sound but relaxed when he saw the thin blue crescent of the moon through the tall, dark branches of the Forbidden Forest. Not a werewolf, then. He could hear the faint whistling of the wind through the trees and smell the faintest hints of wood smoke; besides that, the forest was devoid of activity.

He looked around him cautiously. There were no signs of the Death Eaters or Voldemort; the clearing he was in showed no signs of recent fires or any human activity at all.

He reached out blindly for his glasses among the dirt and leaves and twigs, but found nothing. His wand was still in his robes, and in an incredible stroke of luck, it remained unbroken. Sitting up took a monumental amount of effort, and he was gasping for breath when he finally managed to shift his legs underneath him. He fumbled under his torn-up robes for his wand, mumbled _“Accio glasses,”_ and fell backwards as dozens of glass shards floated up from the ground and flew at him, along with the twisted remains of the frame. Pulling himself upright again, he collected the disparate parts in the palm of his hand; with a whispered _“reparo,”_ the shards of glass halfheartedly reformed into twin lenses, and the metal frame wrapped itself around the lenses and untwisted itself until it vaguely resembled a pair of glasses.

He fumbled for a moment while setting them on his face, stabbing himself in the eye; wincing, he settled the glasses firmly onto his nose and had his first good look around.

The Forbidden Forest stood around him, as foreboding as always. The moon was visible, but it was just on the horizon to the east; so nearly morning, then. Had Voldemort just left him there to die? And more terrifying: what about everyone else at Hogwarts? There were no sounds of battle, of curses and hexes flying through the air; of people screaming out in pain or triumph. So it was over, then; Voldemort was sure to have survived if Harry hadn’t killed him. Hogwarts was gone; all the people he cared about were dead.

But he had to make sure of that. He stumbled upright, leaning against a tree for support; glancing around the clearing, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. There were no signs of the campfire, or of the revelry of the Death Eater celebrations that were bound to occur when they emerged, victorious, from the Battle of Hogwarts.

He let go of the tree experimentally, and when he didn’t immediately fall over, he reached into his robes for the Invisibility Cloak and unfolded it, draping it over his head. He turned towards the trail that led to the castle and began to walk along it towards Hogwarts, or what was left of it. He stumbled forwards one step at a time, keeping an eye out for wild animals or stray Death Eaters.

As he trudged towards the castle, the dark sky lightened and began to turn purple, then varying shades of oranges and reds as the sun rose, ahead of him. All around him, birds were chirping and the sound of crickets chirping slowed. In the distance, the lone wolf continued to howl; ahead of him, he could hear the sound of the underbrush being crushed by the Hogwarts Thestral pack as they walked through the forest.

Finally, the path began to lead up, towards Hogwarts, towards home. The sun was well above the horizon now, and the forest was lit up with the blinding rays of the sun. Harry couldn’t see much of anything with the sun directly in front of him, so he kept walking forwards as the surrounding trees got thinner, smaller, and shorter. At last, he emerged from the forest, near the road leading to the castle; in the distance, he could see Hogwarts, standing proud.

He stopped and stared. The castle appeared to be in perfect condition; in the distance, he could see the covered bridge, and it was still standing. He distinctly remembered McGonagall ordering the covered bridge to be destroyed, to keep Death Eaters away from the castle.

There were several figures flying above the Quidditch pitch, and their captain was flying far above them. Even this far away, Harry could hear snatches of their conversations, and hear the dull _thunk_ of the Beaters’ bats smashing into the Bludgers. After checking to make sure he was still protected by his Invisibility Cloak, he began making his way along the front road towards Hogwarts.

The double oak doors of Hogwarts were as massive as they always had been. They were closed and locked, and bore no signs of the the Death Eaters’ destruction the night before. Harry was thoroughly confused now; the only explanation for the state of Hogwarts was time travel, and that was impossible save for the few hours a Time-Turner afforded its user. _Or not,_ said a small voice in his head. _You do remember the Time Room in the Department of Mysteries, right?_ He shook his head. Magic was… well, magical.

There was nothing more to be gained from lurking around Hogwarts. He was bone-tired, and he needed to rest so he could think this through properly. _Diagon Alley it is, then,_ he thought, and grasping his wand, he tried to apparate to Diagon Alley. Instead of the uncomfortable feeling of Apparition, he felt a deep, stabbing pain in his gut. Gasping in pain, he grabbed at his stomach and felt the blood seeping through his shirt. It appeared the anti-apparition jinx had been erected around Hogwarts again; or had it never gone down? Time travel was a tricky business.

He fell roughly onto the stone steps leading up to the Hogwarts front door and blacked out again, his Invisibility Cloak unfolding gently around him.


	2. Harry wakes up

He woke up in a soft bed and instinctively felt for his wand within his robes; all he felt were empty pockets. He felt on the bedside table for his wand and found it, along with his glasses. Putting his glasses on, he looked for the telltale shimmer of his Invisibility Cloak, but it wasn’t on the bedside table or on the ground near him. He’d have to find that again; he couldn’t bear losing it, not now, not after he’d learned about its history.

There was somebody near him; it sounded like Pomfrey was healing a broken arm. ‘…and there you go, good as new. You can go now, but— _wait one second!_ ’ Harry heard the sounds of the patient jumping out of the bed. ‘Don’t think you can just go gallivanting off and get hit by a bludger again! You may resume _regular classroom activities_ , but don’t you even _think_ about Quidditch until I’ve had a good look at you tomorrow. Off you go, now. I’ve got business to attend to.’

He heard the faint clicking sounds of the student walking away on the stone floor towards the doors of the hospital wing; Pomfrey was now coming to his bed, to check on him. She wouldn’t believe for a second that he was actually sleeping, which meant he had to formulate a plan quickly. He thought about the recent events; since the castle was obviously standing, the events of yesterday must have been separated from his current time by quite a large margin. He didn’t know how quickly Hogwarts could be rebuilt, but even with magic, he reckoned it would take several years at least. That wouldn’t explain the covered bridge, though. It was built centuries ago, and with the creation of the Hogsmeade Express, it wasn’t needed any longer. The only reason it would still be standing is if Harry had somehow traveled back in time.

That simplified things dramatically. He remembered the Time Room in the Department of Mysteries; time magic was still a subject shrouded in mystery, rumors, and misdirection. He supposed it was _possible_ that he’d gone back in time; he would have discarded the idea long ago, but he couldn’t think of anything else that would explain the sudden repair of Hogwarts.

If that was the case, adult Harry wouldn’t exist, at least not yet. If everybody saw adult Harry’s face now, the real Harry would be exposed in the future. But somebody had to have brought him to the hospital wing; they _must_ have seen his face. Then again, they’d have been focused on carrying him along the tricky stairways and corridors to the hospital wing; maybe they wouldn’t remember his face.

Either way, the solution was simple. He aimed the wand at his face, visualized the changes, and whispered ‘ _Idem obscurum_.’ He could feel his face distorting; his jaw widening, his eyes moving very slightly closer, and he knew his hair was now a dark brown instead of black. It would only last a few hours, but that was enough to fool Pomfrey.

‘Awake already, I see?’ She pulled aside the curtain surrounding the bed where he lay. ‘Don’t bother pretending; you can’t fool me.’

She rolled up Harry’s robes, checking his stomach wound. ‘Are you from these parts, lad? You must have known you can’t Apparate on Hogwarts grounds; it’s in all the pamphlets about Hogwarts. Besides—’

‘What year is it?’ rasped Harry.

‘—what _year_ is it? 1981, of course; November the first, and let’s see, it’s a quarter to seven. You’ve been here for only an hour. We found you with some nasty wounds this morning — from the Apparition, of course—’

But Harry wasn’t listening. 1981, November the first; that meant yesterday was Halloween. Yesterday, James and Lily Potter were murdered by Voldemort in their house at Godric’s Hollow. This morning, Dumbledore brought infant Harry to the Dursleys. Sirius was being tracked down by a team of Aurors right now; if Harry acted fast, he could save Sirius from Azkaban and foil Pettigrew’s plot to frame him.

‘—quite good shape for a failed Apparition,’ Pomfrey continued. ‘The enchantments surrounding the castle are quite strict; I’ve _asked_ Dumbledore to reduce them, but he thinks the danger is too high. Honestly—’

‘Excuse me, but could I see Dumbledore?’ interrupted Harry. ‘I have an urgent message to deliver.’

‘Dumbledore?’ asked Pomfrey, hesitantly. ‘I’m afraid he left last night on very important business. He won’t be back for a few days, he said.’

That was it, then. All the facts slotted in nicely. Which meant he had business to do, and fast.

‘Thank you, Madam Pomfrey, but I’ve got to be going now. So if you’ll excuse me…’

He lifted himself up from the bed, putting his glasses on and slipping into his shoes, ignoring Pomfrey’s protests.

‘Have a good day, Madam, and sorry for the trouble.’ He pulled the curtain aside and practically ran out of the hospital wing.

‘No trouble, none at all,’ whispered Pomfrey as she stared at the empty hospital wing, the curtains rippling in Harry’s wake, ‘but how did you know my name?’

* * *

He had to get out of the castle. He had to get away from the Hogwarts grounds, so he could Apparate.

He had to get to Sirius first. He had complete trust in Sirius; he could tell Sirius everything. Sirius, tracking down Pettigrew while being chased by the Aurors. Sirius was the one person Harry could trust.

He suddenly realized he had no idea where Sirius was when he was tracking Pettigrew. He pulled his wand out from his robes and laid it flat on the palm of his hand. ‘ _Point me_ ,’ he whispered as he ran along the road to the entrance. He kept a memory of Sirius in his head, and the wand twisted around to aim south, the direction of Godric’s Hollow. He put his wand away and pushed open the wrought-iron gate, stumbling through it as he Apparated to Godric’s Hollow.

Godric’s Hollow was buried underneath a fresh layer of snow, a few centimeters thick. The wind was whistling through the bare trees; reddit.comHarry discreetly cast a warming spell to stave off the worst of the cold.

The snow would have covered up all the tracks. He tried to recall what he’d heard about Sirius and Pettigrew; did he arrive before Hagrid? because if Hagrid arrived just after midnight, that would put Sirius several hours ahead of Harry. The _Point me_ spell wasn’t very precise; it showed Sirius being anywhere within fifty kilometers of Godric’s Hollow. _Think, Potter,_ he thought to himself. _You knew Sirius as good as anyone else. How would he find Pettigrew?_

Sirius wasn’t subtle; he preferred to dash into combat first and debate strategy while recuperating. Once he found Pettigrew, he’d follow until one of them was killed — _or captured and thrown in Azkaban for a decade,_ said a nasty voice in Harry’s head. _Hurry up now, or it’ll all happen again._

Harry paced back and forth in the snow as he turned over the possibilities in his head. Pettigrew would have been brought along with Riddle, in case any complications came up. When Riddle was destroyed by Harry, Pettigrew wouldn’t run, no matter how terrified he’d be; he was too cowardly to abandon his master, even in death. So Sirius would be looking for a rat among the rubble.

Where would a rat go? It was quite obvious.

Harry Apparated to Devon.

Upon arriving in a rainy alley in Devon, it was quite clear that Sirius had already found Pettigrew. Harry stuck his head out of the alley to the sound of spellfire. Running out into the wet road with cold, hard rain pouring from the overcast sky, he saw Sirius — _finally!_ battling Pettigrew with everything he had.

The spells Pettigrew was using were decidedly illegal, and he’d heard a few not-so-clean spells from Sirius as well. While waiting for Pettigrew to tire out so he could get a clean _stupefy_ , Harry heard the faint popping of the Aurors Apparating in. So did Pettigrew, for as he jumped out of the way of another attack from Sirius, he quickly sliced his own finger off with a cutting curse. Howling in pain, he turned in on himself as he shrank down into a rat, turning around and running for the storm drain just in time to see Harry’s _stupefy_ catch him square in the head.

‘ _Accio Sirius!_ ’ cried Harry as he reached down to grab the still form of Pettigrew the rat. The moment he felt Sirius touch his robes, Harry grabbed his arm tightly and Apparated to the Forbidden Forest, leaving behind a dozen confused Aurors.

* * *

They tumbled onto the moist ground of the Forbidden Forest. Harry sprang to his feet and cast a quick ‘ _Incarcero!_ ’ at Pettigrew, then turned to Sirius, who was pointing his wand at Harry’s heart. The shaking of Sirius’ wand did not escape Harry.

‘Who the _bloody hell_ are you?’ growled Sirius. ‘If you’re going to murder me, you should have done it back _there_ , like a man. I’m sure the Aurors would look the other way if you’d killed a wanted man in self-defense.’

‘Nobody’s going to kill anybody,’ said Harry placatingly as he bent over and placed his wand on the ground. ‘I just wanted to keep you out of Azkaban, Padfoot.’

‘Ha! “Azkaban”, he says. After the trial, I’d have been given the Dementor’s Kiss, no doubt… _what’d you call me?_ ’

‘Calm down, Sirius,’ warned Harry. ‘I won’t ask you to put your wand down, but I’d Appreciate it if you didn’t—’

‘What the _fuck_ did you call me? How the hell do you know my name?’ spat Sirius. ‘ _Nobody_ knew I was Padfoot, not even _Dumbledore_. If you’re a Death Eater, speak up so I can kill you sooner.’

‘Well,’ began Harry, ‘It turns out that time travel is possible. I believe you’ve heard of me? I’m James and Lily’s son; Harry Potter. It’s nice to meet you.’ He extended his hand towards Sirius.

‘You’re… _who?_ ’ Sirius blinked. ‘Okay, two can play this game. If you’re actually Harry, you’d have no problem answering—’

‘James, Peter, and Remus are Prongs, Wormtail, and Moony.’

‘Ha! I’ll bet Pettigrew told you that, the lying rat. Let me at him and I’ll rid you—’

‘Oh,’ said Harry suddenly. ‘I almost forgot. Peter’s the Secret Keeper. So you can put the wand down, thank you.’

‘—kill him once and for all — wait, did you just say what I think you said?’

‘You’re also my godfather. I presume only James, Lily, and yourself knew about that?’

Sirius just stared at Harry.

‘Oh, right,’ muttered Harry. ‘Gimme a sec…’

As Harry’s face reshaped itself into its true form and his hair returned to its original jet-black color, Sirius slowly leaned forwards and touched his face.

‘I can certainly see the resemblance… you—’

‘Have my mother’s eyes, I know.’

‘When did you get here?’ he asked, looking at Harry’s eyes. ‘Did you have a chance to save James?’

‘No, not really. I got here; well, _now_ , I suppose, last night.’

Sirius looked down at the bound Pettigrew.

‘What do you plan on doing with the rat? D’you reckon we should tell Dumbledore?’

‘I… I don’t know,’ said Harry hesitantly. ‘I wouldn’t say I trust him yet.’

Sirius barked in laughter. ‘What’d he do, try to get you killed or something?’

‘Yeah, something like that,’ Harry replied. ‘I can’t complain too much, though. It’s the only reason I’m here.’

‘So what’s the big plan, then? I trust you have something planned out?’ Sirius asked.

‘First, we need to get Harry— the _real_ Harry— to a loving family. He’s not staying at the Dursley’s a second longer than he has to. I think the Tonkses would take him.’

Sirius looked at Harry blankly. ‘You haven’t heard?’

‘No, what happened?’

‘Harry’s dead,’ muttered Sirius. ‘Voldemort killed him. I didn’t get to the rat in time.’

Harry stared at Sirius. ‘What— wait— what do you mean? Didn’t Lily try to save him?’

Sirius laughed again.

‘Of course she did! She’s in St. Mungo’s right now. The doctors say she’ll be unconscious for another week at least. No, _Harry_ was murdered by Voldemort after he tried to kill Lily.’

‘So… Harry’s dead, then? And James, too? But Lily survived? That’s not how it happened to me… they both died to save me.’

Sirius nodded.

‘So I guess we won’t need to find a family for him… wait, _where’s Frank and Alice Longbottom?_ ’

‘Last I heard, they were at Longbottom Manor, but—’

Harry grabbed onto Sirius’ arm, holding him tight as he Apparated them both to Longbottom Manor.

* * *

‘Death Eaters kidnapped Frank and Alice and tortured them senseless,’ Harry panted as they ran up the gravel path towards the manor together. ‘I’m not sure when it happened—but if we can get them out before they’re captured—’

With some quick cutting curses, they were through the ornate doors and running into the entrance halls of Longbottom Manor. They climbed up the huge staircase leading to the second level and ran down the wide hallway.

‘Check the doors on the right,’ called Harry. ‘Death Eaters would’ve left obvious signs—’

‘What’s this about Death Eaters?’ came a voice from the end of the hall as a robed figure with a blue glint in his eye stepped out from one of the rooms and spotted Harry and Sirius. ‘Hey, you! Both of you, hold it right there!’ he growled, then shifted into a defensive stance and shouted into the room without taking his eyes off Harry and Sirius. ‘Dawlish, Proudfoot, we’ve got some stragglers! Cover the exits! You two, don’t move!’

With a sinking feeling, Harry motioned Sirius to put his wand away. ‘We’ve heard reports that Frank and Alice Longbottom are in grave danger. We came to assist them.’

The man grunted and shook his head. ‘The Order’s usually faster than us. Wasn’t expecting you, is all.’ He turned to the room again. ‘You two, scratch that. Keep checking the room.’ He stepped forwards towards them and extended a hand.

‘Auror Moody, pleased to meet you. And you are?’

As he recognized Sirius, his eyes widened and he began to unholster his wand, but it was too late. ‘ _Petrificus totalus!_ ’ whispered Harry, and Moody froze in place.

‘It’s a long story, Moody,’ Harry told him, casting a _Muffliato_ on themselves. ‘The gist of it is that Sirius is innocent and… well, you don’t have to know about me. But I _do_ need to know where Frank and Alice are.’ Harry canceled the petrification of Moody’s face, then motioned for him to continue.

‘And why exactly should I tell a wanted criminal where two Aurors are?’ grunted Moody. ‘Doesn’t Voldemort tell his followers where the _good Aurors_ are hiding?’

‘We don’t have time for this,’ said Harry quietly, staring into Moody’s eyes. ‘ _Legilimens_!’

Moody tried to push Harry out of his mind, but Harry, used to his nightly mind battles with Voldemort, was stronger than young Moody. He overpowered the man’s defenses in seconds, then riffled through his recent memories.

‘The Ministry thinks they’re at the Riddle mansion,’ whispered Harry to Sirius as he pulled himself out of Moody’s memories, ignoring the man’s sputtering. ‘Hold onto my arm—’

Once again, their surroundings disappeared as they were funneled through a whirlwind of confusion and light, landing in front of the imposing gates of the abandoned Riddle mansion. With a flick of his wand, Harry opened the gates; silently, they swung open. They entered the grounds, wands drawn. The gravel path beyond the gate led them through a badly overgrown front lawn, complete with a small fish pond. At the end of the path, they silently stepped onto the front porch. The mansion remained eerily silent.

‘D’you reckon they’ll have it jinxed to high heaven?’ asked Harry as he felt for the tendrils of magic surrounding the front door. ‘It doesn’t feel too bad right now.’

‘I wouldn’t think so, not for a quick torture trip,’ whispered Sirius.

Harry stood up straighter and aimed his wand at the oak doors. ‘Okay then. Blast the doors in in three—two—one— _Reducto!_ ’

With a massive _whoosh_ , the doors were blasted out of their frame and flew into the house, landing on the dusty tiles of the entrance hall. Above them, the chandelier swung around, glints of reflected yellow light shining onto the walls around them.

They could hear the sounds of screaming upstairs. Harry and Sirius ran up the stairs, careful to avoid the steps that had rotted away. There was a trail of fresh blood leading up the stairs; Harry tried to not think about what left it and badly failed.

They sprinted along the moist and dilapidated hallway towards the only open door. Upon reaching it, Harry saw Frank Longbottom hanging from the ceiling by his ankles, screaming his throat raw as a tall Death Eater tortured him. Alice Longbottom was crumpled against the corner of the room, next to a potted plant; her brown hair obscuring her face.

‘ _Stupefy!_ ’ roared Harry at the tall man, and before he’d hit the ground, the Death Eater behind him was flinging curses at Harry.

By his side, Sirius was still fighting the other three Death Eaters.

‘What’s the matter, babies? Too scared to fight properly— _confringo!_ —once your _beloved master_ is killed, huh? _Protego!_ What, are you afraid of the big bad Aurors? _Expelliarmus! Stupefy!_ There you go, Harry. One down, two to go. You’ve got to play with them a bit, first—’

‘Sirius! Behind you—’

Sirius spun around, but he was too slow to react as the Death Eater shouted. ‘ _Avada—_ ’

‘ _Reducto!_ ’ shouted Harry, aiming at the floor beneath the Death Eater. He’d correctly guessed that the Death Eater would have had a shield around him, but not on the floor; with a sickening crunch, the Death Eater fell through the floor of the second story and crashed onto the ground.

The tide of battle swung towards them now that it was two-on-two. Within a few minutes, Harry and Sirius had incapacitated the remaining two Death Eaters.

‘I’ll side-along Frank and Alice to St. Mungo’s,’ shouted Harry, already canceling the charms holding Frank in the air and summoning Alice to him. ‘You snap the wands and keep the Death Eaters on the floor. I’ll bring the Aurors here as soon as I can.’ He grabbed onto Frank and Alice’s wrists and Apparated away from the Riddle mansion to St. Mungo’s.

* * *

Harry stumbled into the lobby of St. Mungo’s, levitating the unconscious forms of Frank and Alice Longbottom in front of him. The receptionist didn’t even glance at him as she scribbled on some parchment.

‘How can I help you?’ she asked in a bored voice, then looked up. ‘— _oh my god_ , get them to Level 4!’ She jumped out from behind the desk and opened the elevator doors with a flick of her wand. ‘What spell was it?’ she asked as she helped Harry levitate the Longbottoms.

‘The Cruciatus for one, and I’m quite sure there were some cutting curses in there as well,’ grunted Harry as he pushed the prone bodies into the elevator as the door closed behind them. ‘Could you manage them for the moment? I’ve got some important business to attend to.’

‘Not a problem, not at all! But— how long were they subject to the Cruciatus curse?’

‘I’d estimate, oh, maybe ten minutes or so? I wasn’t quick enough to prevent it entirely.’

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open.

‘Oh dear, ten minutes, oh my. That’s not good at all. There’ll be some permanent damage for sure,’ babbled the receptionist. ‘Will you be going now, or—?’

‘I’m afraid so,’ replied Harry as he returned to the elevator and motioned for the doors to close. ‘I have some urgent business to attend to.’

* * *

Ten minutes later, as Sirius tensely paced along the hallway, he heard the popping of Aurors Apparating in; by the sound of it, there were at least a dozen.

‘Sirius?’ came Harry’s strained voice from around the corner. ‘Put your wand on the ground and put your hands in the air. Their request, not mine.’

‘Well, freedom was good while it lasted,’ muttered Sirius as he placed his wand on the carpet at his feet. ‘You can come in now,’ he called out to the Aurors waiting outside the door. ‘I’m unarmed and defenseless.’

Auror Dawlish led the team into the room and ordered the Aurors to remove the Death Eaters strewn about the floor, then turned to Sirius.

‘Are you aware of how much trouble you’re in?’ he asked Sirius abruptly, pacing along the hallway. ‘Your… _accomplice_ used Legilimency on an Auror _after_ breaking and entering a private building. Surely the Blacks, of all families, know how illegal the mind magics are. After that, you both apparated to a location exposed to Muggles and proceeded to engage in a firefight with Death Eaters.

‘Any one of those would normally end up with both of you in Azkaban for life. _However,_ we are quite… busy at the moment, and you _did_ assist us in taking down five alleged Death Eaters and potentially saving two lives. The violations of the Wizarding Code you’ve committed will be placed permanently onto your record, but in light of the extenuating circumstances, you are both free to go for the moment.’

He spun to face Harry. ‘I ordered the incident to be placed on _your_ record as well, but the clerk couldn’t identify your wand. We have absolutely no record of your wand in any of our files.’

Harry pretended to look confused.

‘We will be corresponding with Mr. Ollivander tomorrow,’ Dawlish continued, staring intently at Harry, ‘and we’re quite sure he’ll be able to identify you _and_ your wand. It’s just a paperwork mixup, I’m sure. We will be expecting you at the Ministry of Magic offices tomorrow morning at nine-thirty.’

‘That’s fine,’ said Harry dismissively. ‘I’ll be there.’

‘Come on, Harry. Let’s go,’ said Sirius, tugging on Harry’s arm. ‘I don’t know about you, but I’ve had more than enough excitement today. I’ll bring you to my home.’ He grabbed Harry’s wrist and Apparated away.


End file.
